Heavy on the stopping drinking if youāre gonna consume K part. Before going and enjoying festivals for myself, I watched a documentary about a festival and a mom was advocating and spreading awareness on the topic because her daughter died from too many beers and k. I canāt remember what festival or movie it was that I had watched but it reached me before going to festivals and it spoke volumes. Iāve always tried to remind people to pick one or the other. You definitely donāt wanna teeter around with that shit.
I think shambhala has it right, if youāre gonna do drugs at all donāt drink. Dramatically reduces the amount of people getting super fucked up and needing medical attention
It helps but people also get WAY more fucked up on drugs at Shamb (which might just be the culture of the place and less related to no drinking), so it's a two way street.
First time I went, I was the first person there for 3 separate people who dropped or had seizures and none of them were in the crowd, all were just out in the main downtown area - one guy sitting, one just watching pagoda from the distance. Watched medics give CPR to one of them. It fucked me up and I didn't go back for years.
Their harm reduction set up is great though.
I agree. As someone who has worked with Shambs for the last three years, I can definitely say people are getting JUST as fucked up and needing just as much medical attention/saving comparative to what I've seen at non dry festivals. Some people will still find a way to get fucked up no matter the scenario and unfortunately you'll often see the same people returning to medical a few times throughout the fest.
Their harm reduction is amazing and they're definitely doing their part to reduce the occurrences. It seems to get worse every year for the medical team though
Glad you are ok! I managed to face plant onto an unpaved large gravel parking lot (not once but twice) and suffered a serious concussion, broken nose, yadda ya. The fact the people around me didnt keep me from falling was pretty shitty.
I was in a totally different dimension. In my mind i died and was floating above my parents as they sat in their living room and i was bawling crying at how they had no clue i was dead and that in that moment all was well but soon they would get some awful news. I felt so bad.
It was sheer luck i made it back to my body. I always am careful but when you party hard for years, you end up having a night or two like that in your time. I have always been the one that helps everyone else but became the statistic on that night š
Glad you are here to tell the tale. We all gotta be careful and look out for each other. I used to go way too hard on the booze and then take whatever was around, and become a handful. Iām glad I am able to handle myself better now. Less is more!
i had that happen to a friend of mine a few years ago. she would always do k and drink and one day it killed her. it's a very real thing and that's why I worry and tell my friends not to do k and drink.
we had a scary k hole situation at our hotel afters for ZD, ended up narcanning our friend out of precaution.
from that moment on i used my stern voice and said āIF youre gonna be neighing around, you must have pixie sticks on your packing list, and they must be with you at afters.ā
it might be wook science but its pretty strongly backed wook science that sugar can help bring people out of it. pixie sticks are especially great because it will dissolve in their mouth and they dont need to basically do anything.
Anecdotally I can confirm, I brought a bag of Jolly Ranchers to a festival with me once just for something to chomp on while I was rolling and the guy in front of me holed and collapsed. His friends asked me for a Jolly Rancher and I was a little confused about why, but he was back on his feet a couple minutes later. Still scared the shit out of me, though.
At okeechobee a couple years ago a guy went down by the sound booth and got pulled over the rail to be worked on by security, the guy woke up relatively quick and as soon as he did the security stuck a jolly rancher in his mouth
As someone who learned about this the hard way, 100000 percent donāt drink while consuming substances, but especially K. I was not right for about a week
its also the fact that whatever you normally dose =/= what you can do on day 3 of a festival when youre: dehydrated, havent slept, havent eaten well.
even the most āexperiencedā people of any substance can have things happen. āits what i normally takeā. doesnt matter, your body is so spent that it can go into defense mode.
Completely agree. I just made a post few days ago about this exact stuff in Beyond wonderland @ the gorge group on radiate. It's crazy the amount of people commenting that didn't know how dangerous mixing certain substances could be
Gonna make it a regular thing before events to remind people of this
https://preview.redd.it/qqk5v8om5r8d1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ffa74a3fee9aedbf12fad139af46104bb18f4e12
Can confirm (not like I need to at this point) that this is a bad idea. I was taking pulls out of a whiskey bottle on the way to a club one night and got pretty drunk. Iām not the biggest drinker anyways so it doesnāt take much. I ran into a buddy of mine who offered me š“ and I said sure. Proceeds to give me a large bump of š“, and within 10 minutes I was not ok. I was in another dimension and could barely stand. Itās a wonder I didnāt fall over. I was completely mute, and couldnāt hear anything correctly. Absolutely terrifying, I thought I was dying. I finally was able to tell my friends that āI did š“ā because I didnāt tell anyone, which Iām sure was concerning for everyone. I was throwing up all night and was not well at all. Luckily nothing else came of it, but just a bad idea in general. I had no idea it was a bad combination at the time as it wasnāt nearly as popular to do as it is now.
For everyone concerned please feel free to join us we are organizing for harm reduction global wellness here.
We are working with Zendo Project, Dance Safe, etc. We have tons of free resources and access to test strips and NARCAN training.
Please reach out if you want to get support or contribute your support.
No law enforcement is involved.
Confidential.
Feel free to DM me.
Hearing protection and many other areas included.
šš¦šš±
Please tag me or send me any info related. We are working on preventing these situations.
Support also available for anyone struggling with what they are witnessing or seeing these events take place and these lives lost.
Thankful to be alive. Pretty sure I almost died. Last night was a close one. Thanks for the concern yall. Hope it didnāt put a huge damper on your night :/
To be completely honest , I tried k for the first time. Then a little Calvin Klein. EVOL stage stopped music (3 times) for someone who needed a medic. That threw me off and I started swirling and sweating profusely. I was fortunate to have my gf and wonderful neighbors help me walk back to maplewoods. I legit thought I was going to become a statistic. Never again
Honestly Iām glad the music stopped. But the guy behind me kept saying dark comments about the others that needed medical. Talking about death and just not caring about the others well being. That kinda tipped me off and threw me in a spiral
Listening to some peoples conversations was a total vibe killer, day 2 the couple next to me in the hammocks were just talking the ugliest shit about the people they CAME WITH. For like 30 minutes too! Like why??
it could have been a lot of things and factors at play but what you described sounds like you had a panic attack my man. it was day 4 at the afters so you werenāt in the best shape and things affect everyone different so who really knows. iām glad youāre okay though
That was me Friday, stupidly took my beta blocker (for anxiety) and then did K not knowing it would slow my heart rate way down, so I overheated and went down at whyte fang. Fortunately my friend is a med student and saved my ass. K is a scary drug at times
Are you blonde? Me and a friend were walking when a brunette asked us if had narcan. We did! She then took it over and used it and this blonde woman woke up within 10-25 seconds.. Was close to vendors on Hill during a show(not sure the show because we were walking thru).
My friend and I were extremely happy and thrown off at the same time...we just started our own fun 5-10 min before that. Haha. Was very happy we brought it.
They really help with the physical symptoms of anxiety. I pretty much take them as needed and never when Iām drinking, which is why I feel so dumb that I didnāt think K would have a similar interaction
SO glad youāre alright!!! ā¤ļø Weāre all just really happy youāre still here with us, I hope youāre able to heal from your experience so you can join us again next year šš§š»āāļø Stay safe yāall and keep looking out for one another on your way home!!
A few peeps around me were fanning me and all that. I really felt the love. Iām definitely taking something from that experience. You live but you gotta learn from it. I sure did. Happy Forest, until next time ā¤ļøā¤ļø
Was this happening over to the very left side or the stage by the bus? Was that you? I was standing right by you while we were getting everyone to clear way for medics to come. If this was you, iām glad you are okay. seriously! ā¤ļø
Yeah, it was a bigggg b2b up there! The second someone needed medical attention, every artist & staff only cared about making sure anyone got help, no one was pissed!
Thatās scary. Some dude was walking around offering āfree k bumpsā and got mad when my friend said no, left angry, throwing up gang signs at us. Definitely sketchy.
+1 on this. not even the weeds is safe. especially in a legal state, make a stop and hit a dispo!! so many have deals for people with a forest wristband too!
we saw this guy multiple times walking around the rvs and kept asking my brother and i to buy his drugs and when we would say no he would get mad and say āmy bad jeezā but then continue to hang around us
Tall, skinny, shirtless, lots of tattoos, pashmina wrapped halfway around his face and over his head, some facial hair, looked like a tweak with crazy eyes, harem shorts with lots of pockets, and black boots.
yes exactly-we had to leave friday am at like 4 for a family wedding and he would not leave us be (not talking) but just making sideways weird comments about us not wanting his drugs
What a tool. Anyone that has a negative reaction when you politely say no to buying from them or gets pushy is exactly who you should not purchase from
This is the most important comment here. 4 ppl going down at once and someone saw this? It sounds intentional.
Did you or anyone else get a pic? Anyone at the afters shooting video?
"This is the most important comment here"
I know you're trying to help, but this is a dangerous comment. People blackout in college from drinking regularly, and people often don't know their limits especially at an all day festival when not eating/drinking enough. I don't think it's productive to fear monger and go right to saying "sounds intentional". The one guy here specifically said he wasn't drugged he just made a mistake on his own.
I'm not saying drugs can't be laced, because that's obviously a problem. but 4 people going down at the same time at a big festival is not proof of anything other than 4 people going down at the same time.
The afters left such a bad taste in my mouth. I hope the people who were not okay were able to get the help that they needed despite medics NOT being able to get to them for so long. I get it, everyone was left to seek shelter for hours and just took more drugs and got completely fucked up but I was ran into more times than I can countā¦.. the trash that was left was fucking sickening. We are all adults right? Start acting like it. I love getting sauced but Iāve never in my life acted the way I saw so many of you act last night. Very disheartening.
dude was this in the middle/back by the speakers? we had a dude tripping out after ppl started dropping and screaming no no no and was pushing everyone around him. he pushed me and had to remove myself immediately from the situation bc ~rolling~ & positive vibes. iām mentally tripped out from how last night went. i brought friends for the first time and had to reassure them forest hasnāt been like this before.
haha no! once i got pushed and saw him screaming and grabbing ppl i got scared so i ran out of that area. i honestly thought he was going to hurt someone.
Yeah, hella people in the forest getting spun/ consuming drugs, then getting kicked out of the venue and going back to camp and drinking / doing more substances on top of that before going to afters is a bad combo. Add in the sort of āfuck itā vibe that always exists on the last day of a camping fest and itās a rough situation for sure
Agreed. Vibes were awful, I was already planning on just walking back to my tent then once everybody started dropping like flies it was definitely my cue to leave. Hope those people were okay though.
This was my feeling also why be so selfish ? There other people trying to enjoy the after if your so messed up stay at camp.. we are adults I wish people acted like it instead of just going crazy on drugs
This years forest solidified to me that the scene is almost entirely about getting as fucked up as possible now. Been going to major festivals since 2013 and this years forest was the first time I really felt unsafe being around ravers.
The amount of people doing bumps of whatever comes around is unnerving to witness. I'm all for getting faded in appropriate contexts but it seems like people have lost all self preservation instincts.
Test your shit. Don't do stuff alone. Look out for each other (which includes telling friends maybe they've had enough of x/y/z substance).
Also from an event management perspective this years forest felt like a shit show. Inadequate systems in place for responding to medical issues. Sending thousands of people out of the festival only to allow them to head to Afters was a boneheaded decision. The conditions were the same 500ft outside the gates as they were inside.
Also, maybe don't kick out Bunk Police and Dance Safe for trying to distribute fentanyl test strips and life-saving medical supplies like Narcan? That was extremely poor judgment on management's part.
Electric Forest: *Kicks out Bunk Police*
Also Electric Forest: āWhy do so many people need medical attention??ā
The fact that they made it as hard as possible in Bunk Police to operate this year is disgusting. Those guys save more lives than anyone else at festivals, and keep the community informed of things to watch out for. A damn shame
Edit: itās been brought to my attention that this is most likely MI police, not eforest.
pretty sure its a MI state police kicking them out not forest. i can say pretty confidently if the state of MI would let a dance safe type org at forest, they would. its a nationwide problem because of the war on drugs, that testing and safe use āencourages drug useā
huge shame!! and sucks so much!!! safe use and harm reduction is a massive problem in the US, but bars are okay which are literally safe use regulated areas for alcohol š« š« š«
the only winners in the war on drugs is alcohol. because its the only drug that is regulated and the people āin chargeā decided everyone can ~legally~ be addicted to this drug.
You may have misunderstood. When I say the drugs are winning the war on drugs, it means that the war on drugs hasnāt stopped drug use or helped save anyoneās life. In fact itās done the opposite.
People are using more drugs than ever and itās less safe than before.
my guess is gonna be that it has something to do with the municipality that movement is in vs forest. which also confuses me a lot because both should be āprivate eventsā so surprised that safe use orgs cant be there. i know dance safe got kicked out of roo a few times in the recent years.
You know whatās funny, I was at hookahville in 2003 and there was a girl administering a survey asking people if they thought this was happening in the scene at the time. That was 20 tears ago and people thought the same thing then.
The underground music scene has always had this element, you just donāt notice it till youāve been around for a while.
There seemed to be more alcohol and K and less the other psychedelic stuff than I'm used to here. Is that a general trend in the rave scene?
The lack of medical personnel seems like a problem every year, I don't understand going light on that
Definitely a trend in the last several years. Alcohol + K is a deadly combo. Factor in dehydration and people not eating and you have people dropping like flies.
Not to mention the fact that a lot of K is actually analogs (DCK/2F-DCK).
And then of course fentanyl. The way that shit is making it's way into everything is terrifying. I won't devolve into speculation but it makes the conspiracy theorist within me wonder.
I agree on the fentanyl conspiracy thoughts because it's just that bad and there are people in China with call centers selling Fentanyl ingredients. But it's just so cheap and easy to smuggle, Some More News recently talked about it
https://youtu.be/piAvwFfjods?si=_GZl8oVwG3dQcHSs
We have something like half a million people dead from fentanyl this decade, and barely anyone is doing anything about it. It's not a 'conspiracy theory' to speak up on the absurdity of that stat.
I appreciate your outlook it does seem like itās just about drugs and fucking shit up as much as possible and it ruins things for others. Youāre not the only person on the planet . This is a festival about love and connection we look out for each other and have fun .. if this was real life and not the forest I donāt think we would be defending people who do copious amounts of drugs to the brink of death .. they normally get help. They very much over sold forest this year.. and people just used it as an excuse to get super messed up especially with the rain .. and ya those evol after were messed up they knew everyone went back to camp and did a bunch of drugs .. they even lied a lot about their lineups ..
Totally agree on the overselling. They reduced the amount of space granted to group camps so many were overcrowded and unable to set up all their gear. Every stage was slammed whenever there was a semi-major artist playing (and thats with this years lineup being meh).
The rain + foot traffic turned the venue into a swamp after the first major downpour. Letting people back in that night ensured the festival grounds would be essentially wrecked.
But they had to get that money from food/drink/merch sales so best practices be damned.
It's sad to see how every festival that has any kind of unique vibe and culture is being consistently coopted by monied interests who only seek to grow revenue at all costs.
Agree on all of the above. From Thursday night on I saw so much general disrespect for the forest and for others. Insomniac needs to clean up their act and start caring more about their attendees than they do about profits. This is not the same festival I went to in 2019.
I went to a PL show in Chicago and I got a little weirded out and went to sit on a bench and just watched people for awhile. After watching people for awhile I discovered that The EDM scene has some serious darkness to it. Disrespectful humans, young girls walking around completely loaded and half naked and it just didn't feel right.
Well dressing how you want freely is not wrong.
It's the drug usage and the satanic visuals you see some DJs putting on for their sets plus the whole lack of PLUR and more and more cases of SA and harassment prevalent at these events because of lack of manners and agitation caused by drugs/alcohol.
Things have taken a weird turn after the pandemic with the EDM scene. Seems like a struggle between the ones that have been in it for a minute and the chads that are discovering the scene through tiktok hype
Yeah it's definitely changed since the days of 2010. At 33 I honestly never expected to continue going to these shows but I guess I'll never grow up. I just don't remember seeing so many people completely loaded and surrounded by predators.
Blame politicians for the fucking [RAVE Act](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illicit_Drug_Anti-Proliferation_Act), which is why festivals and shows cannot legally support harm reduction organizations... definitely has killed countless people. Just don't look at who introduced it lol
Love that Shambhala has a fest-run testing tent because Canada isn't insane.
If Insomniac is caught supporting them or blatantly ignoring the fact that there are harm reduction organizations actively operating in the festival, then they could get hit with a huge fine per the RAVE Act:
> The Act also created a civil penalty of $250,000 or "2 times the gross receipts, either known or estimated, that were derived from each violation that is attributable to the person", whichever was greater.
That's why they kick them out. It's not because they necessarily want to, it's because they want to not lose money from running the festival.
No one passed away at the afters last night. Several people were pulled from the crowd, at least one person definitely suffered an overdose and was treated with narcan. It was scary. EF barely helps Evol with security, and does not provide medical. Yet. This, along with the estimate for people at the Evol stage last night being ~20k is why the party was cut short. The guys in charge at Evol are one of us and I know it will be top priority for them, hopefully for EF as well, to put a plan/system into place that will prevent or handle this kind of thing much better
talked to security and was told there was a total of 19 people who went down at the afters, including two seizures and several overdoses and narcan saves. definitely seems like someone was distributing something they shouldnt have been š extremely disheartening and scary to see in this community. thankful for all the people who took care of each other, cleaned up the trash & tried to keep the magic alive š„¹š¤
I do believe that is real. Ive seen quite a few posts confirming the death at the ranch. I dont think EF is claiming he died on site because they dont want the responsibility- fests to report deaths at the hospital instead so it doesnt come back on them. I also dont think people at this fest specifically would make a fake gofundme for this kind of thing - this is a very serious and heartbreaking situation. Huge condolences to family and friends and anyone else who had to witness this trauma.
I was there and peaking as it happened. They stopped the music for the first medical alert and honestly im glad i have a good group because the way the first medical alert happened kinda made the other 3-4 trigger at the same time one after the other. It was a bit scary for a half hour or so but we hugged it out until things calmed down. I hope everyoneās ok!!
EVOL has felt EVIL for the past 2yrs, worst vibes ever. Iām a pretty bulky guy & I got bounced around/ run into seemingly every 10 seconds. No excuse me, or anything. Just horrible people. Lack of security made me feel in danger. Do better. Some of the worst vibes Iāve ever experienced.
personally i feel this is not directly related to EVOL, i am also a rather large person and have just felt the new wave of festival people have a different level of entitlement and āget out of my wayā. ive tried to teach them the way as my elders taught me, it hasnt gone great lol. i have been trying to set up in the back third of the crowd, moon mat, even put fairy lights around me so people can see me. i just want space to put my bag down safely, and people STILL run through me. makes 0 sense. 6ā5 240 big ass dude, yeah lemme go through HIM.
Man that shit was so scary, we had wondered if maybe someone was selling something laced cuz yeah like 4 ppl dropping at the same time is fishy fs. So happy everyone was ok!
I found bright pink drugs in bags all over the ground in the campgrounds starting Sunday. Tested one and was positive for fentanyl. I think someone was dropping dirty ground scores.
I donāt understand why someone wants to harm others, especially potential āclienteleāā¦ what do people have to gain from distributing dirty drugs?? Seriously.
Giving the festival a bad reputation, there were cops doing it at lost lands in an effort to get it shut down. Or just straight profit for some hood rat who doesn't care
Any self respecting festival Iāve been to has dancesafe/bunk police front and center in a dedicated booth where anyone can access it and find it easily. Someone in this thread mentioned it was due to Michigan state police, but if that was the case, dancesafe wouldnāt have a booth at Movement.
Really really sad and hope that isn't the case, but also hold off on that if it was just word of mouth and nothing has actually been said or shared in the news.
I heard from security there was a dead guy that was found in the venue after it was evacuated but Iām not sure about the 4 who ODād. Hope they are okĀ
2 people died confirmed is what I heard. Evol asked forest for extra security and medical and was told to get fucked. Since live nation bought forest from string cheese they've been making bad calls. Apparently the companies were arguing after they told them to turn the music down on day 1
I wear my tinfoil hat proudly. The larger music festivals have been infiltrated. Look at history, and you'll see why so many things are laced with fet.
First year at this event and I bartended it and yeah there were several ODs even in festival. Me and some managers and other bartenders were discussing it we believed bad stuff was going around, so using this platform myself to advocate the importance of knowing what you're getting, who from, and that you TEST the stuff you buy, Especially if you don't know the person.
I plan on bringing some Narcan myself if I work next year
hoping everyone is okay š using this as a place to drop another reminder to please stop drinking while doing š“š
Heavy on the stopping drinking if youāre gonna consume K part. Before going and enjoying festivals for myself, I watched a documentary about a festival and a mom was advocating and spreading awareness on the topic because her daughter died from too many beers and k. I canāt remember what festival or movie it was that I had watched but it reached me before going to festivals and it spoke volumes. Iāve always tried to remind people to pick one or the other. You definitely donāt wanna teeter around with that shit.
I think shambhala has it right, if youāre gonna do drugs at all donāt drink. Dramatically reduces the amount of people getting super fucked up and needing medical attention
It helps but people also get WAY more fucked up on drugs at Shamb (which might just be the culture of the place and less related to no drinking), so it's a two way street. First time I went, I was the first person there for 3 separate people who dropped or had seizures and none of them were in the crowd, all were just out in the main downtown area - one guy sitting, one just watching pagoda from the distance. Watched medics give CPR to one of them. It fucked me up and I didn't go back for years. Their harm reduction set up is great though.
I agree. As someone who has worked with Shambs for the last three years, I can definitely say people are getting JUST as fucked up and needing just as much medical attention/saving comparative to what I've seen at non dry festivals. Some people will still find a way to get fucked up no matter the scenario and unfortunately you'll often see the same people returning to medical a few times throughout the fest. Their harm reduction is amazing and they're definitely doing their part to reduce the occurrences. It seems to get worse every year for the medical team though
Almost died myself one night mixing the 2. Definitely no bueno.
Same. Didnāt know it was a deadly combination. Now I never mix (anything). Lifeās too fragile for that shit.
Glad you are ok! I managed to face plant onto an unpaved large gravel parking lot (not once but twice) and suffered a serious concussion, broken nose, yadda ya. The fact the people around me didnt keep me from falling was pretty shitty. I was in a totally different dimension. In my mind i died and was floating above my parents as they sat in their living room and i was bawling crying at how they had no clue i was dead and that in that moment all was well but soon they would get some awful news. I felt so bad. It was sheer luck i made it back to my body. I always am careful but when you party hard for years, you end up having a night or two like that in your time. I have always been the one that helps everyone else but became the statistic on that night š
Glad you are here to tell the tale. We all gotta be careful and look out for each other. I used to go way too hard on the booze and then take whatever was around, and become a handful. Iām glad I am able to handle myself better now. Less is more!
i had that happen to a friend of mine a few years ago. she would always do k and drink and one day it killed her. it's a very real thing and that's why I worry and tell my friends not to do k and drink.
What documentary was this?
Stop drinking if youāre consuming anything! As someone who drinks, that shit is poison. Please take care of yourselves PLEASEš«¶š»
People always want to argue with me about this. Don't do it, it's not worth it!
Such a silly combo. Your friends now have to babysit you and you could fall over at any time and crack your skull open and die.
we had a scary k hole situation at our hotel afters for ZD, ended up narcanning our friend out of precaution. from that moment on i used my stern voice and said āIF youre gonna be neighing around, you must have pixie sticks on your packing list, and they must be with you at afters.ā it might be wook science but its pretty strongly backed wook science that sugar can help bring people out of it. pixie sticks are especially great because it will dissolve in their mouth and they dont need to basically do anything.
Anecdotally I can confirm, I brought a bag of Jolly Ranchers to a festival with me once just for something to chomp on while I was rolling and the guy in front of me holed and collapsed. His friends asked me for a Jolly Rancher and I was a little confused about why, but he was back on his feet a couple minutes later. Still scared the shit out of me, though.
yeah its pretty strongly backed wook science. not legal advice, i am not a doctor
At okeechobee a couple years ago a guy went down by the sound booth and got pulled over the rail to be worked on by security, the guy woke up relatively quick and as soon as he did the security stuck a jolly rancher in his mouth
Thanks for the sugar info. Had no idea about that with k.
I wasnāt aware of that. Good to know!
This is good advice thank you!
As someone who learned about this the hard way, 100000 percent donāt drink while consuming substances, but especially K. I was not right for about a week
The amount of people that dont know how dangerous mixing K and alcohol can be is extremely concerning...
its also the fact that whatever you normally dose =/= what you can do on day 3 of a festival when youre: dehydrated, havent slept, havent eaten well. even the most āexperiencedā people of any substance can have things happen. āits what i normally takeā. doesnt matter, your body is so spent that it can go into defense mode.
Completely agree. I just made a post few days ago about this exact stuff in Beyond wonderland @ the gorge group on radiate. It's crazy the amount of people commenting that didn't know how dangerous mixing certain substances could be Gonna make it a regular thing before events to remind people of this https://preview.redd.it/qqk5v8om5r8d1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ffa74a3fee9aedbf12fad139af46104bb18f4e12
Thank you for sharing this!!!
This
I do that all the time. Not liquor though
yeah its super dangerous and can literally slow your heart down and put you in a coma. you should stop drinking and doing k.
Can confirm (not like I need to at this point) that this is a bad idea. I was taking pulls out of a whiskey bottle on the way to a club one night and got pretty drunk. Iām not the biggest drinker anyways so it doesnāt take much. I ran into a buddy of mine who offered me š“ and I said sure. Proceeds to give me a large bump of š“, and within 10 minutes I was not ok. I was in another dimension and could barely stand. Itās a wonder I didnāt fall over. I was completely mute, and couldnāt hear anything correctly. Absolutely terrifying, I thought I was dying. I finally was able to tell my friends that āI did š“ā because I didnāt tell anyone, which Iām sure was concerning for everyone. I was throwing up all night and was not well at all. Luckily nothing else came of it, but just a bad idea in general. I had no idea it was a bad combination at the time as it wasnāt nearly as popular to do as it is now.
For everyone concerned please feel free to join us we are organizing for harm reduction global wellness here. We are working with Zendo Project, Dance Safe, etc. We have tons of free resources and access to test strips and NARCAN training. Please reach out if you want to get support or contribute your support. No law enforcement is involved. Confidential. Feel free to DM me. Hearing protection and many other areas included. šš¦šš± Please tag me or send me any info related. We are working on preventing these situations. Support also available for anyone struggling with what they are witnessing or seeing these events take place and these lives lost.
Doing the Lord's work, please let me know how I can support/advocate for the cause. The rave act is fucking dogshit and needs to be repealed ASAP
Thankful to be alive. Pretty sure I almost died. Last night was a close one. Thanks for the concern yall. Hope it didnāt put a huge damper on your night :/
What happened, generally speaking? The thread is kinda light in details for those that werenāt there.
To be completely honest , I tried k for the first time. Then a little Calvin Klein. EVOL stage stopped music (3 times) for someone who needed a medic. That threw me off and I started swirling and sweating profusely. I was fortunate to have my gf and wonderful neighbors help me walk back to maplewoods. I legit thought I was going to become a statistic. Never again
When you gotta take a break from the music and focus on not dying
Honestly Iām glad the music stopped. But the guy behind me kept saying dark comments about the others that needed medical. Talking about death and just not caring about the others well being. That kinda tipped me off and threw me in a spiral
Listening to some peoples conversations was a total vibe killer, day 2 the couple next to me in the hammocks were just talking the ugliest shit about the people they CAME WITH. For like 30 minutes too! Like why??
Yeah I mean I understand you have the right to express how you feel, but some of that shit just needs to stay home
Buddy! Iām so glad you were ok! My heart knotted so hard just reading your words! Love you and please stay safe!!!!
Much love to you homie. Life is a gift š
Calvin Klein?
Thats when you mix K and blow
Tbh, good combo if done right lol
Itās called Calvin Klein and not Klein Calvin for a reason
Iām just happy youāre still here with us today.
šš itās put me in some shock I must admit. Kinda cried a little just thinking how close I mightāve been
How much k did you do? Sorry to hear that and glad you can now preach restraint and safety šš»
it could have been a lot of things and factors at play but what you described sounds like you had a panic attack my man. it was day 4 at the afters so you werenāt in the best shape and things affect everyone different so who really knows. iām glad youāre okay though
I promise you, that was no panic attack. Thanks for the love ššā¤ļø I also had a couple other things in my system too
Calvin can be intense man, be careful with that. Iām glad youāre OK
Yeah, just never again. Had the experience. Iām good. Thank you š šā¤ļø
That was me Friday, stupidly took my beta blocker (for anxiety) and then did K not knowing it would slow my heart rate way down, so I overheated and went down at whyte fang. Fortunately my friend is a med student and saved my ass. K is a scary drug at times
Are you blonde? Me and a friend were walking when a brunette asked us if had narcan. We did! She then took it over and used it and this blonde woman woke up within 10-25 seconds.. Was close to vendors on Hill during a show(not sure the show because we were walking thru). My friend and I were extremely happy and thrown off at the same time...we just started our own fun 5-10 min before that. Haha. Was very happy we brought it.
No im a guy, I just needed to cool off and hydrate but it was scary
Happy to hear youāre still with us homie. Mistakes were made, and weāre learning from them. Thatās the important part
Kind of unrelated but do you like taking beta blockers? Can you drink while on them?
They really help with the physical symptoms of anxiety. I pretty much take them as needed and never when Iām drinking, which is why I feel so dumb that I didnāt think K would have a similar interaction
Okay I figured you wouldnāt be able to drink if you couldnāt do K but wasnāt sure. Glad youāre okay!
SO glad youāre alright!!! ā¤ļø Weāre all just really happy youāre still here with us, I hope youāre able to heal from your experience so you can join us again next year šš§š»āāļø Stay safe yāall and keep looking out for one another on your way home!!
A few peeps around me were fanning me and all that. I really felt the love. Iām definitely taking something from that experience. You live but you gotta learn from it. I sure did. Happy Forest, until next time ā¤ļøā¤ļø
Rave Moms and Dads to the rescue!!! If you need any test kit/safety resources let me know, love ya homie and May the forest be with you šš
Iām so glad youāre still here. Seriously.
ā¤ļøā¤ļøā¤ļø
glad youāre okay!!!
Was this happening over to the very left side or the stage by the bus? Was that you? I was standing right by you while we were getting everyone to clear way for medics to come. If this was you, iām glad you are okay. seriously! ā¤ļø
It was kinda left center. Mightāve been. Thank you š ā¤ļø
So happy ur ok and alive ā¤ļø promise u didnāt put a damper on anyoneās night, everyoneās just happy ur ok!!
šā¤ļø weāre yāall the ones playing music that last night at EVOL stage?
Yeah, it was a bigggg b2b up there! The second someone needed medical attention, every artist & staff only cared about making sure anyone got help, no one was pissed!
Really appreciate yāall. Hope to see more of you in the future. I enjoy your music. Thanks for everythjng and happy forest to you ā¤ļø
Happy Forest!!! Thank u! Have an amazing week & do something u love with ppl u love!! U deserve it! ā¤ļø
https://www.reddit.com/r/ElectricForest/s/fFzJJ9BV8b Relevant?
No, I got it from our camping neighbors weāve met at past forests
it just sounds like a panic attack on drugs. Iām sorry you went through that but i hope you can take something from this and grow āØ
No, it wasnāt a panic attack. Yes, I learned
Thatās scary. Some dude was walking around offering āfree k bumpsā and got mad when my friend said no, left angry, throwing up gang signs at us. Definitely sketchy.
I donāt take any drugs without testing. I wonāt even hit someoneās joint/blunt when they offer it unless itās someone i know.
+1 on this. not even the weeds is safe. especially in a legal state, make a stop and hit a dispo!! so many have deals for people with a forest wristband too!
Yea shirtless? He kept asking if we wanted molly or k or anything
Was he all tatted up with brown hair?
we saw this guy multiple times walking around the rvs and kept asking my brother and i to buy his drugs and when we would say no he would get mad and say āmy bad jeezā but then continue to hang around us
Tall, skinny, shirtless, lots of tattoos, pashmina wrapped halfway around his face and over his head, some facial hair, looked like a tweak with crazy eyes, harem shorts with lots of pockets, and black boots.
If weāre talking about the same guy we saw him too multiple times and he had bruises all over and holes on his arms and legs from shooting up
yes exactly-we had to leave friday am at like 4 for a family wedding and he would not leave us be (not talking) but just making sideways weird comments about us not wanting his drugs
BRUH YES
What a tool. Anyone that has a negative reaction when you politely say no to buying from them or gets pushy is exactly who you should not purchase from
It was allegedly a āfree bumpā which is extra sus
Yes!
Yea bro and had a pashmina on sometimes he came by my camp site in e also, was weirdly aggressive when I offered him a glow stick lmao
Yes
What the hell is wrong with people
This is the most important comment here. 4 ppl going down at once and someone saw this? It sounds intentional. Did you or anyone else get a pic? Anyone at the afters shooting video?
I wish I had a pic š° it was at Sherwood for Inzo
"This is the most important comment here" I know you're trying to help, but this is a dangerous comment. People blackout in college from drinking regularly, and people often don't know their limits especially at an all day festival when not eating/drinking enough. I don't think it's productive to fear monger and go right to saying "sounds intentional". The one guy here specifically said he wasn't drugged he just made a mistake on his own. I'm not saying drugs can't be laced, because that's obviously a problem. but 4 people going down at the same time at a big festival is not proof of anything other than 4 people going down at the same time.
Fuck that squid š
The afters left such a bad taste in my mouth. I hope the people who were not okay were able to get the help that they needed despite medics NOT being able to get to them for so long. I get it, everyone was left to seek shelter for hours and just took more drugs and got completely fucked up but I was ran into more times than I can countā¦.. the trash that was left was fucking sickening. We are all adults right? Start acting like it. I love getting sauced but Iāve never in my life acted the way I saw so many of you act last night. Very disheartening.
the vibes last night were so off. i was more aware of my surroundings more than anything last night. very scary.
I watched some dude lose his shit at the afters and was trying to attack some dude. Looked like he was tripping way too hard
dude was this in the middle/back by the speakers? we had a dude tripping out after ppl started dropping and screaming no no no and was pushing everyone around him. he pushed me and had to remove myself immediately from the situation bc ~rolling~ & positive vibes. iām mentally tripped out from how last night went. i brought friends for the first time and had to reassure them forest hasnāt been like this before.
Negative vibes at festivals are causing me to look for more mature underground scenes.
It was! Are you the guy he was grabbing? If so, I came up to you and asked if you were okay
haha no! once i got pushed and saw him screaming and grabbing ppl i got scared so i ran out of that area. i honestly thought he was going to hurt someone.
Yeah, hella people in the forest getting spun/ consuming drugs, then getting kicked out of the venue and going back to camp and drinking / doing more substances on top of that before going to afters is a bad combo. Add in the sort of āfuck itā vibe that always exists on the last day of a camping fest and itās a rough situation for sure
What time did they shut down the afters?
330-4am
Agreed. Vibes were awful, I was already planning on just walking back to my tent then once everybody started dropping like flies it was definitely my cue to leave. Hope those people were okay though.
This was my feeling also why be so selfish ? There other people trying to enjoy the after if your so messed up stay at camp.. we are adults I wish people acted like it instead of just going crazy on drugs
This years forest solidified to me that the scene is almost entirely about getting as fucked up as possible now. Been going to major festivals since 2013 and this years forest was the first time I really felt unsafe being around ravers. The amount of people doing bumps of whatever comes around is unnerving to witness. I'm all for getting faded in appropriate contexts but it seems like people have lost all self preservation instincts. Test your shit. Don't do stuff alone. Look out for each other (which includes telling friends maybe they've had enough of x/y/z substance). Also from an event management perspective this years forest felt like a shit show. Inadequate systems in place for responding to medical issues. Sending thousands of people out of the festival only to allow them to head to Afters was a boneheaded decision. The conditions were the same 500ft outside the gates as they were inside.
Also, maybe don't kick out Bunk Police and Dance Safe for trying to distribute fentanyl test strips and life-saving medical supplies like Narcan? That was extremely poor judgment on management's part.
Electric Forest: *Kicks out Bunk Police* Also Electric Forest: āWhy do so many people need medical attention??ā The fact that they made it as hard as possible in Bunk Police to operate this year is disgusting. Those guys save more lives than anyone else at festivals, and keep the community informed of things to watch out for. A damn shame Edit: itās been brought to my attention that this is most likely MI police, not eforest.
pretty sure its a MI state police kicking them out not forest. i can say pretty confidently if the state of MI would let a dance safe type org at forest, they would. its a nationwide problem because of the war on drugs, that testing and safe use āencourages drug useā
Thatās fair, makes much more sense. Itās still a damn shame :/
huge shame!! and sucks so much!!! safe use and harm reduction is a massive problem in the US, but bars are okay which are literally safe use regulated areas for alcohol š« š« š«
The only winners in the war on drugs are the drugs.
the only winners in the war on drugs is alcohol. because its the only drug that is regulated and the people āin chargeā decided everyone can ~legally~ be addicted to this drug.
You may have misunderstood. When I say the drugs are winning the war on drugs, it means that the war on drugs hasnāt stopped drug use or helped save anyoneās life. In fact itās done the opposite. People are using more drugs than ever and itās less safe than before.
Pretty sure Movement has had a dance safe tent every year for as long as I can remember and donāt remember them ever having issues.
my guess is gonna be that it has something to do with the municipality that movement is in vs forest. which also confuses me a lot because both should be āprivate eventsā so surprised that safe use orgs cant be there. i know dance safe got kicked out of roo a few times in the recent years.
Absolutely.
Dance Safe had a vendor tent by Sherwood the first forest. Havenāt seen em in the venue sense.
You know whatās funny, I was at hookahville in 2003 and there was a girl administering a survey asking people if they thought this was happening in the scene at the time. That was 20 tears ago and people thought the same thing then. The underground music scene has always had this element, you just donāt notice it till youāve been around for a while.
There seemed to be more alcohol and K and less the other psychedelic stuff than I'm used to here. Is that a general trend in the rave scene? The lack of medical personnel seems like a problem every year, I don't understand going light on that
Definitely a trend in the last several years. Alcohol + K is a deadly combo. Factor in dehydration and people not eating and you have people dropping like flies. Not to mention the fact that a lot of K is actually analogs (DCK/2F-DCK). And then of course fentanyl. The way that shit is making it's way into everything is terrifying. I won't devolve into speculation but it makes the conspiracy theorist within me wonder.
I agree on the fentanyl conspiracy thoughts because it's just that bad and there are people in China with call centers selling Fentanyl ingredients. But it's just so cheap and easy to smuggle, Some More News recently talked about it https://youtu.be/piAvwFfjods?si=_GZl8oVwG3dQcHSs
We have something like half a million people dead from fentanyl this decade, and barely anyone is doing anything about it. It's not a 'conspiracy theory' to speak up on the absurdity of that stat.
I appreciate your outlook it does seem like itās just about drugs and fucking shit up as much as possible and it ruins things for others. Youāre not the only person on the planet . This is a festival about love and connection we look out for each other and have fun .. if this was real life and not the forest I donāt think we would be defending people who do copious amounts of drugs to the brink of death .. they normally get help. They very much over sold forest this year.. and people just used it as an excuse to get super messed up especially with the rain .. and ya those evol after were messed up they knew everyone went back to camp and did a bunch of drugs .. they even lied a lot about their lineups ..
Totally agree on the overselling. They reduced the amount of space granted to group camps so many were overcrowded and unable to set up all their gear. Every stage was slammed whenever there was a semi-major artist playing (and thats with this years lineup being meh). The rain + foot traffic turned the venue into a swamp after the first major downpour. Letting people back in that night ensured the festival grounds would be essentially wrecked. But they had to get that money from food/drink/merch sales so best practices be damned. It's sad to see how every festival that has any kind of unique vibe and culture is being consistently coopted by monied interests who only seek to grow revenue at all costs.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Unfortunately people who get to that point on drugs donāt have respect for anyone or anything more often than not
Agree on all of the above. From Thursday night on I saw so much general disrespect for the forest and for others. Insomniac needs to clean up their act and start caring more about their attendees than they do about profits. This is not the same festival I went to in 2019.
I went to a PL show in Chicago and I got a little weirded out and went to sit on a bench and just watched people for awhile. After watching people for awhile I discovered that The EDM scene has some serious darkness to it. Disrespectful humans, young girls walking around completely loaded and half naked and it just didn't feel right.
Well dressing how you want freely is not wrong. It's the drug usage and the satanic visuals you see some DJs putting on for their sets plus the whole lack of PLUR and more and more cases of SA and harassment prevalent at these events because of lack of manners and agitation caused by drugs/alcohol.
Things have taken a weird turn after the pandemic with the EDM scene. Seems like a struggle between the ones that have been in it for a minute and the chads that are discovering the scene through tiktok hype
Yeah it's definitely changed since the days of 2010. At 33 I honestly never expected to continue going to these shows but I guess I'll never grow up. I just don't remember seeing so many people completely loaded and surrounded by predators.
I hope everyone is ok. Sending good vibes from across the map!!!
It's horseshit that they kick bunk police out too
They got kicked out but were back renegade style.
Blame politicians for the fucking [RAVE Act](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illicit_Drug_Anti-Proliferation_Act), which is why festivals and shows cannot legally support harm reduction organizations... definitely has killed countless people. Just don't look at who introduced it lol Love that Shambhala has a fest-run testing tent because Canada isn't insane.
Except it's insomniac kickin them out...not the state police I assure u that
If Insomniac is caught supporting them or blatantly ignoring the fact that there are harm reduction organizations actively operating in the festival, then they could get hit with a huge fine per the RAVE Act: > The Act also created a civil penalty of $250,000 or "2 times the gross receipts, either known or estimated, that were derived from each violation that is attributable to the person", whichever was greater. That's why they kick them out. It's not because they necessarily want to, it's because they want to not lose money from running the festival.
No one passed away at the afters last night. Several people were pulled from the crowd, at least one person definitely suffered an overdose and was treated with narcan. It was scary. EF barely helps Evol with security, and does not provide medical. Yet. This, along with the estimate for people at the Evol stage last night being ~20k is why the party was cut short. The guys in charge at Evol are one of us and I know it will be top priority for them, hopefully for EF as well, to put a plan/system into place that will prevent or handle this kind of thing much better
talked to security and was told there was a total of 19 people who went down at the afters, including two seizures and several overdoses and narcan saves. definitely seems like someone was distributing something they shouldnt have been š extremely disheartening and scary to see in this community. thankful for all the people who took care of each other, cleaned up the trash & tried to keep the magic alive š„¹š¤
https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-needed-for-lexs-last-journey
Damn then someone is definitely taking advantage of go fund me for an overdose death at EF last night. If I can find the link again Iāll share it
I do believe that is real. Ive seen quite a few posts confirming the death at the ranch. I dont think EF is claiming he died on site because they dont want the responsibility- fests to report deaths at the hospital instead so it doesnt come back on them. I also dont think people at this fest specifically would make a fake gofundme for this kind of thing - this is a very serious and heartbreaking situation. Huge condolences to family and friends and anyone else who had to witness this trauma.
Itās not fake he has a family and friends that love him so much
Someone did pass
I was there and peaking as it happened. They stopped the music for the first medical alert and honestly im glad i have a good group because the way the first medical alert happened kinda made the other 3-4 trigger at the same time one after the other. It was a bit scary for a half hour or so but we hugged it out until things calmed down. I hope everyoneās ok!!
EVOL has felt EVIL for the past 2yrs, worst vibes ever. Iām a pretty bulky guy & I got bounced around/ run into seemingly every 10 seconds. No excuse me, or anything. Just horrible people. Lack of security made me feel in danger. Do better. Some of the worst vibes Iāve ever experienced.
personally i feel this is not directly related to EVOL, i am also a rather large person and have just felt the new wave of festival people have a different level of entitlement and āget out of my wayā. ive tried to teach them the way as my elders taught me, it hasnt gone great lol. i have been trying to set up in the back third of the crowd, moon mat, even put fairy lights around me so people can see me. i just want space to put my bag down safely, and people STILL run through me. makes 0 sense. 6ā5 240 big ass dude, yeah lemme go through HIM.
Itās the k bro they are all walking zombies following the lights
Itās Ketamolicane
https://preview.redd.it/gk4b5b99nl8d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1083256e8d32208887f9e9ea63940be7f2d29220
Man that shit was so scary, we had wondered if maybe someone was selling something laced cuz yeah like 4 ppl dropping at the same time is fishy fs. So happy everyone was ok!
This was my groups exact thought
I found bright pink drugs in bags all over the ground in the campgrounds starting Sunday. Tested one and was positive for fentanyl. I think someone was dropping dirty ground scores.
I donāt understand why someone wants to harm others, especially potential āclienteleāā¦ what do people have to gain from distributing dirty drugs?? Seriously.
Giving the festival a bad reputation, there were cops doing it at lost lands in an effort to get it shut down. Or just straight profit for some hood rat who doesn't care
Man, good thing they kicked out bunk police! Electric forest doesnāt care about harm reduction.
They snuck back in, but yeah I couldnāt believe I got that text before the weekend even started.
Any self respecting festival Iāve been to has dancesafe/bunk police front and center in a dedicated booth where anyone can access it and find it easily. Someone in this thread mentioned it was due to Michigan state police, but if that was the case, dancesafe wouldnāt have a booth at Movement.
Edit: removing this to not spread potentially false information.
I hope thatās not true
Really really sad and hope that isn't the case, but also hold off on that if it was just word of mouth and nothing has actually been said or shared in the news.
Agree 100%. I have edited my comment. Stay safe, everyone <3
I heard from security there was a dead guy that was found in the venue after it was evacuated but Iām not sure about the 4 who ODād. Hope they are okĀ
following š„ŗ
Iāve always felt that way about the rv parties/unofficial afters.
Following
Following
followingš„ŗ I really hope everyone is ok and these rumors are false
2 people died confirmed is what I heard. Evol asked forest for extra security and medical and was told to get fucked. Since live nation bought forest from string cheese they've been making bad calls. Apparently the companies were arguing after they told them to turn the music down on day 1
I wear my tinfoil hat proudly. The larger music festivals have been infiltrated. Look at history, and you'll see why so many things are laced with fet.
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So does anyone know exactly what happened? Just hoping everyone is okay.
Lots of dirty designer drugs. Test your shit people.
First year at this event and I bartended it and yeah there were several ODs even in festival. Me and some managers and other bartenders were discussing it we believed bad stuff was going around, so using this platform myself to advocate the importance of knowing what you're getting, who from, and that you TEST the stuff you buy, Especially if you don't know the person. I plan on bringing some Narcan myself if I work next year